Scapegoat MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	1998-03-02
Set symbol
Set name	Stronghold
Set code	STH
Number	14
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Daren Bader

Key Takeaways

Utilizes Scapegoat’s instant speed to disrupt opponents and protect creatures strategically.
Demands a creature sacrifice and specific mana, limiting its versatility in certain decks.
Provides significant benefits in the right deck, enabling combos and thwarting removal.

Text of card

Sacrifice a creature: Return any number of target creatures you control to owner's hand.

"Enjoy your deception, Vuel," Gerrard said as Volrath's features melted from the dead shapeshifter. "I'll count this one as practice."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Scapegoat offers a unique approach to card advantage by allowing players to return any number of creatures they control to their hand. This can be a powerful way to protect your important creatures from removal, or to reuse creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects for additional benefit.

Resource Acceleration: Though Scapegoat itself does not directly accelerate resources, it indirectly assists by saving mana and resources that would otherwise be spent on recasting creatures lost to board wipes or targeted removal. This allows for efficient use of mana in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The strength of Scapegoat is greatly enhanced by its instant speed, giving players the flexibility to choose the most opportune moment to use this protective measure. This timing could potentially disrupt an opponent’s strategy, especially during combat or in response to an opponent’s spell targeting your creatures.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Scapegoat, despite its utility in safeguarding your creatures, it requires the sacrifice of a creature to activate. Should your battlefield presence be minimal, this necessity becomes a tricky constraint, potentially forcing you to relinquish a valuable asset.

Specific Mana Cost: Scapegoat demands a white mana, which means it’s inherently a piece for white-oriented or multicolor decks that include white. This criteria sizes down its applicability, as it cannot be seamlessly integrated into any deck composition.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a spell of its nature, the cost may come across as lofty. One white and an additional generic mana for an effect that doesn’t directly sway the game state or yield a card advantage is considered steep, especially when compared to other spells that offer immediate board impact or card draw for a similar or lesser investment.

Reasons to Include Scapegoat in Your Collection

Versatility: Scapegoat offers a unique form of board protection, as it can save key creatures from removal or reset enter-the-battlefield triggers. This can fit into a variety of decks from ones focusing on creature-based strategies to those utilizing creature synergies.

Combo Potential: With the ability to bounce multiple creatures back to your hand, Scapegoat provides combo decks a way to reuse creatures with powerful effects, or to safeguard an entire board state for a small investment of just one white mana.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where board wipes and targeted removal are commonplace, having a card like Scapegoat can be critical. It allows players to adapt to heavy control strategies, maintaining the presence of key creatures on board or enabling a strategic retreat when needed.

How to beat

Scapegoat, a unique card in Magic: The Gathering, allows players to return any number of creatures they control to their hand at the cost of one white mana for each. This can save a player’s creatures from being destroyed or dealt lethal damage. Beating Scapegoat requires strategic planning and timing. Applying pressure with instant-speed removal spells that target key creatures in response to Scapegoat can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, forcing them to either lose their creature or spend additional mana to save it.

Another effective tactic is to limit the number of creatures your opponent controls. Board wipes, like Wrath of God or Supreme Verdict, can clear the board before your opponent has the opportunity to utilize Scapegoat effectively. The key is to keep their board presence minimal, reducing the protective value Scapegoat provides. Additionally, employing graveyard recursion can be advantageous, as it allows you to recover your threats even if Scapegoat saves your opponent for a moment, ensuring you maintain momentum and card advantage.

In essence, overcoming Scapegoat relies on foresight and control, ensuring that the card’s defensive capabilities are mitigated by your assertive plays and removal strategies. This way, you can steadily advance your position while minimizing the impact of your opponent’s attempts to escape danger.

Cards like Scapegoat

Scapegoat offers MTG enthusiasts an intriguing tool for protecting valuable creatures. When comparing it to other protective spells, Sheltering Light stands out, providing indestructibility to a single creature along with scry to help filter upcoming draws. While Scapegoat can safeguard an entire army by bouncing them back to the hand, Sheltering Light’s indestructibility can be pivotal in combat scenarios without returning creatures to the player’s hand.

Ghostway is another card that shares Scapegoat’s spirit, albeit with a different twist. It exiles any number of target creatures you control and then returns them to the battlefield under their owner’s control. This effect, much like Scapegoat, can save a multitude of creatures from board wipes or adverse effects. However, Ghostway’s temporary exile effect can be beneficial as it also triggers enter the battlefield effects upon return.

In essence, Scapegoat finds its unique position in MTG by offering a scalable creature protection strategy. Simultaneously, it sidesteps potentially detrimental exile scenarios and provides a controlled way to reuse enter the battlefield abilities or dodge specific removals, placing it as a tactical choice for creature-centric decks.

Cards similar to Scapegoat by color, type and mana cost

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scapegoat MTG card by a specific set like Stronghold, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Scapegoat and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scapegoat has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Scapegoat card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2013-04-15	Players can only respond once this spell has been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to destroy the creature you sacrificed to prevent you from casting this spell.
2013-04-15	You must sacrifice exactly one creature to cast this spell; you cannot cast it without sacrificing a creature, and you cannot sacrifice additional creatures.